Die a Hero or Live Long Enough to See Yourself Become a Traditional American Family Sitcom: Exhausting Parody and Thirty-Three Years of The Simpsons.

This article analyzes the decline in popularity and cultural impact of the American television series *The Simpsons* through the lens of John Barth’s concept of "textual exhaustion," which suggests that overuse of a text’s modes and ideas leads to audience fatigue. Using intertextuality and parody as theoretical frameworks, the paper traces how *The Simpsons* initially succeeded by combining sharp satire, well-developed characters, and emotional depth, but gradually shifted toward superficial celebrity cameos and repetitive cultural references that alienated viewers. The show’s early seasons fostered a strong fan community through multilayered humor and narrative coherence, while later seasons suffered from diluted character consistency and loss of emotional resonance. Ultimately, the article argues that *The Simpsons* exemplifies how long-running media properties can exhaust their creative potential and audience engagement in a saturated media environment.